The government’s controversial NHS bill is now eligible for a new debate in parliament after a campaigner’s e-petition gathered support on Tuesday at the rate of more than 1,000 signatures an hour.
With more than 100,000 signing up, GP Kailash Chand’s appeal calling on government “to drop its health and social care bill” has been boosted by support from celebrities such as Stephen Fry, Rio Ferdinand and Jamie Oliver.
The internet round robin has also been backed by digital campaigners – known as clicktivists – at 38 degrees.
Once it crossed the 100,000 threshold, ministers have to consider the issue for debate in the Commons.
“I wanted people to get a simple message. This bill is about privatisation. Do you want to drop it?” said Chand, who described the surge in support as a “Valentine present to someone who loves the NHS”.
The Institute of Healthcare Management – which represents NHS managers also published results of its survey showing 87% of members say the bill is “fundamentally flawed”
The institute joins the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Nurses, Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and other bodies in calling for the bill – currently before the Lords – to be scrapped.
NHS papers expose risks of health reforms
Health and social care bill could harm patient care and increase costs, internal reports warn
The government’s health reforms run a high risk of reducing levels of safety and patient care while leading to overspending, internal NHS reports have warned.
The potential for conflict between NHS organisations in the new system and upheaval during the transition is high, according to risk assessments drawn up by the four English NHS regions. There is also a high chance the reforms will fail to achieve hoped-for management improvements and budget cuts, they say.
Some of the anticipated problems are rated at the highest risk category, “significant”, and many others are considered “high risk”, even after mitigation measures designed to tackle the issues raised, and despite all actions taken after previous risk reports last autumn.
The warnings – dated January and not due to be updated for three months – will be in place when the controversial health and social care bill becomes law, provided the government succeeds in getting it passed before Easter.
The reports are by the four NHS super-regions in England, created last year by merging 10 regional bodies together into London, the south of England, the Midlands and east, and the north of England. They emerge at a tricky time for ministers as they are likely to reflect the concerns raised by a national risk register, drawn up by civil servants at the Department of Health last year, which the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, is fighting a legal battle to avoid publishing. Pressure on Lansley will be further raised next week when Labour has called an opposition day debate on the issue.
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